


Inspired by...

by Sterling_Jay



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Artist AU, College AU, Drabbles, F/F, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Identity Reveal, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Supercorp - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-09 16:47:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10416603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sterling_Jay/pseuds/Sterling_Jay
Summary: A mix of all the Supercorp fics I've posted on tumblr so far.





	1. Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably be updated once daily until I've posted all of them.  
> Inspired by this post: https://forever-endlessly-in-love.tumblr.com/post/158597934352/stiles-lydia-that-gaze-tho

She can’t help the smile that appears on her face whenever Kara Danvers is around. She can’t help the way her eyes go soft, or the way the tension just seeps out of her shoulders, or the way that her heart beats a little faster.

She tried briefly, at the beginning of their friendship, to maintain at least some piece of the emotionless facade she’d had to learn, being a Luthor.

Somehow, the ice she’d put around her heart to protect it would always melt in the presence of one of Kara’s smiles.

Sometimes she notices that Kara’s eyes are soft too, that she sinks into their hugs and holds on like she doesn’t want to let go.

Sometimes, she lets herself hope.


	2. Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's only a little drunk, and all she wants is some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vaguely inspired by this post: http://lulia-chu.tumblr.com/post/158511707388

“No, Alex, I swear, I’m good!” She slurred her words a bit, floating shakily in front of her living room window. “What d’you mean people saw me flying? ‘Course they did, I’m Supergirl,” she posed, with her hands on her hips. “No, wait, wait, you can’t even see me right now,” she giggled.

“Promise, Alex, ‘m good, I’m fine, soon as I’m off the phone with you, I’m gonna go straight, straight to bed! No, I’m not using my phone, it’s the little,” she squinted as she pinched her fingers together, “the little- it goes, in your ear. _My_ ear. Gonna go to sleep now. Yes. Sleep. Bring donuts tomorrow, I’m gonna be so hungry.”

Alex hung up and Kara lifted the window- the _entire_ window, laughing at herself as she did.

“ _That’s_ gonna suck in the morning,” she said ruefully, stumbling inside.

She dusted off her hands from the bits of wall, and kicked off her boots, her cape dropping to the floor beside them.

“Mmm, good to be home,” she stretched her arms up high, wiggling her toes. “Kara want sleep,” she said, still feeling the effects of the alcohol.

“Lena wants an explanation,” came a voice from the couch, the lamp flicking on.

“Lena? What’re you doing at my apartment?” She blinked. “Kara Danvers’ apartment.”

“Apparently you’re Kara. And this is my apartment.” She raised an eyebrow. “Should I leave the interrogation for tomorrow?”

Kara groaned. “Please? And without yelling, I can already tell this is going to be a hangover.”

“I suppose.” She stood, picking up Kara’s boots and cape. She handed the cape back to Kara. “You’ll take the couch tonight, no more flying while drunk. Ever.”

She gave a thumbs up before she faceplanted onto the couch, pulling the cape with her and wincing when she heard the legs of the couch collapse.

“I…will fix that.” Lena sighed.

“Go to sleep, Kara. And please, try to be here in the morning?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr @sterling-jay, feel free to say hello or drop a request, my inbox is always open!


	3. It's Not a Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She just can't escape the reputation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by: https://superlstars.tumblr.com/post/157835226339/just-sayin

“There’s another headline decrying me as a threat against all alien kind, simply for being a Luthor.”  
  
“Well, hello to you too, Lena.” Kara leans in for a kiss hello and Lena lets her take the paper.  
  
“I thought I’d finally shut the door on being a Luthor. Of having that name haunt me.”

“Apparently not.” Kara huffed angrily as she crumpled up the paper. “They can’t even provide circumstantial evidence to show you’re ‘evil’. They need to give it a rest already! You’ve proven yourself so many times already…”

“Yes, but as long as my name is Luthor…” She sighed. Kara lightly tugged her over to the couch.

“Can we sit?”

“Of course.” She sat beside Kara on the couch, turning her attention to her girlfriend. “What is it?”

“I know we haven’t talked about it much. Or at all, really. But, I was thinking that maybe, one of these days, you might want,” she waved her hands, smiling as Lena caught one of them, “maybe one of these days, maybe we could talk about getting married. And then. Maybe you…not being a Luthor. Being a Danvers, like me.” She shook her head and stood, pacing the room. “I don’t want you to think that I have any sort of problem with your name, or if, if you don’t want to get married, or if you wanted to get married and stay a Luthor, or if you wanted me to be a Luthor too, but I just wanted to throw that out there-”

Lena put a finger to Kara’s lips. “Kara?”

“Mhm?”

“Thank you.” She pecked her on the lips. “I love you. And I’d love to marry you and become a Danvers one day.”

Kara lit up. “Yeah?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“That’s, I mean,” she shook her head, beaming, “this wasn’t the proposal though!”

“Oh no, of course not.” She grinned playfully. “Which means I still have a chance to beat you to it!”


	4. Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It used to be Lex defending her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post: http://sam8324.tumblr.com/post/158514601926

Kara shouted at Alex, loudly proclaiming Lena’s innocence.

“She’s not _like_ that, Alex, she wouldn’t do that, especially not to me!”

Lena stared at the ground, jaw tight. Kara had been vehement in her defense since the moment that The Incident had happened and someone had shifted the blame to her.

“She’s a _Luthor_ , of course she would!”

 _And there it is_ , Lena thought ruefully. Get adopted into the wrong family, have your brother become a criminal…get labeled evil incarnate, just for wanting to keep your privacy rather than publicly denounce him in every form of media that came knocking.

“She. Wouldn’t. Do that. She’s my friend, Alex!” She turned to the other girl. “Right Lena?”

She held the angry facade, not sure what would happen if she let it drop, even a little. She gave a hard swallow. “Right.”

Kara gave her a small, reassuring smile as she turned away and she had to do a double-take, looking away again quickly.

What she had done to deserve a friend as loyal and steadfast a friend as Kara Danvers, she’d never know.


	5. "Friends"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's all in the eyebrows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post: http://proudlyunicorn.tumblr.com/post/158536106703/lesbianlena-lena-what-are-friends-for-katies  
> She knows what she's doing...

Winn is the first one to point it out to her, and when he does and she finally sees it, she’s not quite sure how she’s missed it.

“She does this _thing_ with her eyebrows whenever she calls you her friend.” He wiggles them in an approximation of Lena’s expression. “She doesn’t do it when she’s talking to me though. Or James. Or Alex, or Maggie.”

“Lena _is_ my friend, Winn, I thought we’d gone through this already.” She rolls her eyes. “Multiple times.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, she’s not evil, unless we’re playing video games or hacking-” Kara gives him a hard look, “-hacking cough,” and it’s probably the fakest cough she’s heard in her life, but at least she has plausible deniability if someone asks if she knows what they’ve been up to.

“Sorry,” another fake cough, “choked on air, you know how that goes! No? Okay, anyways.” He clears his throat. “Like I was saying, Lena could be an evil mastermind if she wanted, but she definitely doesn’t. She just,” he wiggles his eyebrows again, “moves her eyebrows funny when she talks to you.”

Kara frowns and doesn’t respond, resolving to look closer the next time she sees Lena.

* * *

 

Alex is the next one to point it out, although she has a theory about what it is.

“It’s just a facial tic, that for whatever reason, only shows up around you. Maybe that’s part of why Lex and Lillian hate aliens so much, Lena’s allergic to them.”

Maggie snorts her beer out her nose and waves off Kara’s attempt to help her, Alex passing her a stack of napkins from the middle of the table.

“I could try prescribing her something for it, an antihistamine or something,” she says thoughtfully, and Maggie is suddenly cackling, bent over the table and breathless with laughter.

She takes one look at the sisters’ faces and pounds the table, laughing even harder. She waves them off again and walks away, still laughing all the while.

* * *

 

Lena doesn’t say anything about friendship the next few times they hang out. Lunch, dinner, a few movie nights just the two of them curled together on the couch.

And then it happens.

Lena brings over a rom-com Maggie had suggested they watch together, and a jumbo order of potstickers.

“Thank you,” she swoops in for a hug and then takes them to the coffee table, one already in hand, “oh my gosh these are my favorites, thank you thank you thank you, Lena!”

“Well, what are friends for,” she says with a smirk, eyebrows quirking.

Kara tilts her head, considering what she’s seen, and then dismisses it, wanting to simply watch the movie in peace with the woman who has become her closest friend.

* * *

 

It’s a gay movie, the one Maggie had recommended for them, and Lena gives her a searching look.

“Are you,” she bites her lip and shakes her head. “Nevermind, I’m being ridiculous.”

“Are you sure?” She leans over to put her hand on Lena’s leg. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Lena smiles at her, gently placing her hand over Kara’s.

“I know. But it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

The look in her eyes tells Kara it’s a little more than nothing, but she doesn’t pry, knowing how hard it is for her to open up in the first place.

“It’s late,” Lena says looking at her watch. “I should be heading home. I’ll see you soon?”

“Of course. And, thank you, for coming over tonight.”

“That’s what friends are for,” and they lean in together for another hug, but not before Kara sees it. Lena’s eyebrow quirks again. She frowns, but hugs Lena, doing her best to act normal.

* * *

 

Once is an accident.

Twice is a coincidence.

Three times is a pattern that Kara can’t ignore.

* * *

 

It’s movie night again, just the two of them, and they’re sitting side by side on the couch, Kara yawning widely and refusing every time Lena offers to leave so she can sleep.

Another huge yawn and Lena sighs, smiling indulgently at her. She moves all the way to one end of the couch and puts a pillow on her lap, patting it.

“If you won’t go to bed, at least get comfortable.”

“I just want to spend time with you,” Kara yawns, gratefully laying down on the pillow. Lena strokes her hair out of her face and they smile. “Thank you.”

“What are friends for,” she says gently, tracing a finger down Kara’s face. Her eyebrow quirks, and Kara frowns lightly. “What?”

“You always do that.”

“Do what?”

“With your eyebrow.” She reaches up, smoothing her thumb over it. “I’ll say thank you, and you’ll say ‘what are friends for’, and then your eyebrow will twitch, like you’ve just thought of some kind of inside joke. Why is that?”

“That’s just the way my face moves,” she said, pulling Kara’s hand down to hold it. “There’s no big mystery to it.”

“There kind of is. Winn was the one to mention it to me. And Alex noticed it too, but she thinks it’s just allergies.” Lena snorts at that, shaking her head. “And Maggie seems to know what it’s all about, but she refused to tell me.” This time, Lena inhales sharply, like she’s been struck, quietly enough that Kara knows she wasn’t supposed to have heard it. “We are friends, right?” She plays with Lena’s fingers. “You’d tell me if we weren’t.”

Lena nods and bites her lip, studying Kara’s face.

She sighs and pulls back her hand, patting Kara’s shoulders.

“You should probably sit up while I explain.”

Kara does, pulling the pillow with her, kneading at it nervously.

“It’s nothing bad, or,” she sighs and puts her hand to her forehead, “I don’t _think_ it is. It’s,” she bites her lip again, “it’s silly, honestly, but it’s to remind myself that you’re my friend.”

Kara stops her kneading.

“Well, yeah. Of course I am.” She thinks about it for a moment. “But you don’t do it with James, or Winn, or Maggie or Alex.”

“James and I hardly spend enough time around each other to claim each other as anything more than acquaintances. And Alex still isn’t entirely fond of me.”

“And the others? What makes me different?”

“You’re my best friend,” Lena says helplessly, grasping at the air. “And…”

“And?” She takes Lena’s hand again.

“And you’re my _friend_ , Kara. And every time I say that,” she closes her eyes, “it’s to remind myself that no matter what, your friendship alone will always be enough.” She doesn’t open her eyes, waiting for the penny to drop.

“Lena.” She moves forward on the couch, a hand to Lena’s cheek. “I still don’t understand.”

Lena opens her eyes again, blinking back the tears she refused to let fall.

“I’m gay, Kara.” Kara blinks once at the revelation. “And interested in you.” Kara’s jaw drops as she finally understands. “It doesn’t have to change anything. It’s why I haven’t told you anything, I _love_ our friendship, being your friend is the most important thing to me, and I didn’t want to ruin it by letting romantic notions get in the way of that.”

“Oh.” It was soft, and Kara looks around the room like she’s seeing everything in a new light. “You want…”

“You. Us. In whatever capacity you’ll have me.” Lena sits up straighter. “I could go out and find another woman to date at any time, another woman to court or bed, but there will never be another you.”

“All of that in an eyebrow,” Kara says weakly, smoothing her thumbs over the back of Lena’s hand.

“All that in an eyebrow,” Lena agrees, swallowing hard. “Is that- Could-” She shakes off the false starts, opening her mouth to try again.

“If I wanted to date you,” Lena’s heart skipped a beat, “if I wanted to try…?”

“No,” she says firmly, feeling her stomach churn.

“No?”

“I don’t want you to ‘try’ dating me, just because I’m,” she casts around for the word, “infatuated with you.”

Kara barks out a laugh at the word, gripping Lena’s hands tighter. “Lena. It sounds like you’re in love with me.” She feels Lena tense. “When I said I want to try, I didn’t mean that I’d go along with it, ‘see what happens’, I meant…” She shakes her head.

“We have lunch together, almost every other day. Dinner is basically a routine together by this point and you already have my apartment key to come in whenever you want.” She shakes her head again. “I’m such an idiot.”

“I don’t- I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“My day isn’t complete without seeing you, that’s what I’m saying. I’m saying,” she laughed, joyfully this time, “that there have been times that I’ve come back to my apartment, and it took until you got in too for it to feel like ‘home’. That, that the only reason that I haven’t thought about dating you yet…is because it feels like we already are.”

Lena’s eyes widen and she tries to speak, not able to find the words.

“What I’m saying is, I might already be in love with you too.”


	6. Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years have gone by, but it never seems to get any easier for Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post: http://luwonderlands.tumblr.com/post/157875670619  
> It being from Lu's page (because Lu is FANTASTIC), I've got to recommend you go check out her Supercorp fic 'How Hard Can It Be to Keep a Secret' (http://archiveofourown.org/works/8718604/chapters/19989037) as well as her tumblr (especially the tags button where you'll find a category called 'fuck you jay' and you can all thank me for it later).

“Did Sunny Danvers skip class today,” she teased as she walked into the room. “I mean, I know it’s happened before, but twice in one week!” She poked at Kara’s sheet covered form with a laugh. “You really should go to class,” she said faux-sternly. “I heard your chem professor is getting upset about everyone skipping the labs. Wouldn’t want to be dropped from the class.”

Kara rolled to face the wall without a sound, and suddenly Lena was worried. Teasing Kara about skipping (which she’s definitely done before) usually made Kara react, dramatically bemoaning how she’s certain to fail, or leaping out of the bed to sprint to class half-dressed, the rest of her clothes hanging out of a half open backpack.

“Kara, what’s wrong?” Kara shrugged, still silent. “Hey, come on, you know you can talk to me.” She moved from the desk chair to sit on Kara’s bed, leaning over her, a hand on Kara’s waist. “What happened?”

“My parents,” Kara croaked from under the covers. Lena could just barely see her eyes, red rimmed and tear filled. “It’s the anniversary this week.”

“Oh. Oh, Kara, I didn’t know.”

She shrugged. “How could you? I don’t talk about it. It’s been years and it hasn’t gotten any easier for me to.” Lena ran a hand over Kara’s back comfortingly. “I thought I was going to be fine, this year, today,” and her voice was high and disbelieving that she’d tricked herself into believing it, “and then Eliza called and told me to check my mail and she’d sent pictures of them, a giant photo album of me and my parents like that’s somehow supposed to make it easier for me to deal with today!” She sniffled and Lena stroked through her hair the way she knew Kara needs when she’s upset. “And of course I’m not ungrateful to have the pictures, all the effort Eliza put into it, but it hurts!” She turned to look at Lena like she needed Lena to believe her so she nodded, knowing how hard it was to have those memories pulled to the forefront again.

“I yelled at her,” she quietly admitted, finally sitting up against her headboard. “I was crying the whole time and yelling, and I think I scared the RA a bit. Eliza didn’t understand what I was so upset about, why I was so angry. I think Alex was there at one point, but I just got so upset that I hung up and…I think I threw my phone into the closet.”

“I’m sorry they didn’t understand.”

“Me too.” She stared at her lap, Lena watching her worriedly.

She ran a hand through her hair, thinking.

“When…when it’s the anniversary of my mum,” and Kara glanced up at the one pronunciation Lena’s never fully let go, “if it’s been hard enough for me to skip class, I would just treat myself. The entire day, whatever I wanted. Lord knows the Luthors have enough money for me to do so. Blueberry pie with ice cream and fuzzy new blankets and candles that smell like her.” She waited for Kara to look back up at her. “We’re different, I know, but. Would you want to try?”

“I don’t have the money to do that,” she said, sliding back down under the covers. “And I don’t want to go out.”

“It’s not a money thing, Kara,” and she grabbed onto her hands, pulling her back up. “And we don’t need to go out. It’s about…comfort. And things that remind you of them, and of home.”

“Because that went so well,” she muttered.

“Or things that are so separate from them that you’re entirely distracted from the day,” she said exasperatedly. “Things that would make you feel better. We could order in, or I could go out and get you whatever you’d like, bring it back to the dorm for you to have.” She smiled. “Remember during midterms, you were so stressed that you wanted to drop out?”

“And you somehow brought back a litter of puppies for me to play with to calm down, even though there was a staff meeting in the lobby?” She snorted. “How could I forget?”

“If it is within my means, Kara Danvers, I will get it for you.” Kara chuckled at her pomposity. “Just name it,” she finished seriously.

“What if I just wanted some potstickers?”

“As many as you can handle.”

“And to marathon Netflix until I pass out?”

“I haven’t changed my account password and my laptop is already set up with the tv.”

“And,” she grabbed a pillow from behind herself, kneading it in her hands, “and if I needed hugs for the rest of the day?”

Lena kicked off her boots and sat fully on the bed, pulling Kara into her arms.

“You can have hugs whenever you’d like, anniversary or not. And if you needed me to hold you, I can do that too.”

Kara tucked her head under Lena’s chin and nodded. She let out a watery chuckle. “Full service best friend,” she joked, squeezing Lena harder.

“Only for you.”


	7. The Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NSFW- Not very detailed or, heh, in depth, but still fun. Not one that's on my tumblr atm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by: http://sterling-jay.tumblr.com/post/158797453999/melissabenoistlove-kara-and-lena-love

They attend the gala together and Kara wears a _tux_. A fucking _tux_ , and not only does she ask Lena to dance, she knows how to do it _well_.

They move and sway and Kara _dips her_ , and all Lena can think about is leaning up and and kissing her. And then she doesn't have the chance, because apparently Kara's had the same thought and leans down to capture her lips confidently, passionately.

A heated look passes between the two of them and Kara pulls her all the way back up. They're out the door and into Lena's town car in minutes, Lena climbing on top of Kara as soon as the door is closed, hands going under her jacket to feel the shape and heat of her body. They make it to Lena's penthouse apartment- it feels like it takes forever and no time at all.

They pull away, breathing hard after the driver knocks on the door, his back turned to the darkened window. They hold each other in the elevator on the way up, staring heatedly into each other's eyes and ignoring the other people who climb into the elevator with them. They make it into Lena's apartment and move carefully towards the bedroom as if any sudden movement could send them into a frenzy of lips and hands again.

Kara goes to take off her jacket, only Lena's hands smoothing over her shoulders and husky voice stopping her. "Leave it on," she says, and Kara nods, inhaling deeply.

Lena kicks off her heels, falls back onto the bed.

"How do you want me, Kara?"

"Just like that." She runs her hands down Lena's neck and shoulder to her chest, over and between her breasts and Lena shivers, eyes closing in ecstasy.

"Tear it off me." Kara's hands stop their roaming, unsure.

"Rip it off of me," she repeats, staring into Kara's eyes. A second later, her nipples are hard, both from the cold air and the sound of her dress being torn off her body effortlessly, Kara throwing the pieces of the bejeweled dress to the side. She looks to Lena's panties and Lena nods.

"Those too," she agrees, and the next second, they're gone, in shreds on the floor.

"Beautiful," Kara murmurs, running her hands over Lena's bare sides. She leans over and takes a nipple in her mouth, a hand slipping down between her legs, and Lena knows she won't ever be able to get this image out of her head, Kara fully decked out in a suit, _fucking her_.

"More," she whispers desperately, and Kara smirks.

"The night's just begun..."


	8. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More interviews...more proof that Snapper's trying to get rid of her, sending her to secure an interview with semi-reclusive Lena Luthor for the school paper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by this post: http://proudlyunicorn.tumblr.com/post/158525496178
> 
> proudlyunicorn is also known as uhpockuhlipz on here and is THE BEST and FANTASTIC and probably my fave writer on here go check her out!!

Another assignment for the college paper, and for once, Kara’s more nervous than anything.

She knows why Snapper sent her, instead of any of the other, more experienced journalism students; Lena Luthor, winner of yet _another_ prestigious award, is one of the school’s most prodigious students, already running her own company, on top of being a full time student. She’s also one of the most notorious, known for her brother’s many and varied misdeeds, as well as her own closed-off demeanor.

Getting interviews from Lena’s fellow business and engineering students does nothing to help inspire her confidence in actually convincing Lena to grant her a personal, one-on-one interview.

“She never talks in class unless it’s to prove how smart she is.”

“She always has her headphones on when she’s walking around campus- never smiles at anyone. I don’t think she has friends.”

“Freaky intense. We worked together on a project once? Shut down all the small talk. Prof said the project should take a week, at least. Took her all of two _days_.”

* * *

 

Kara catches her walking out of the business building, ignoring her frazzled nerves to run up and tap the other woman on her shoulder, Lena jumping three feet into the air at the contact.

“I am so, so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that!”

Lena’s face is flat and emotionless, giving nothing away.

“Who are you? Not another sorority pledge going through hazing, I hope? The last one ran away with her tail between her legs. I don’t think they let her into the sorority, either,” she said thoughtfully.

“What?” She shook her head. “No, no, my name is Kara Danvers. I’m with the school paper,” she said, holding up her ID card.

“Oh.” She turned and kept walking, not showing any surprise when Kara followed. “So,” she said, her tone bored, “what did my brother do this time? Threaten world domination? Stole candy from children? _Murder_ someone?”

Kara paused at how casually she was listing the possibilities, jogging to catch back up.

“None of those, actually. I mean, as far as I know,” she admitted. “I was just hoping to interview you about the Robot Wars championship you won. The paper wants to do a feature on the competition, and what good is a feature without an interview with the winner?”

Lena gave her another flat look and held out her hand.

“Notepad, please.”

“I, um, okay?” Kara took her reporter notebook from her pocket and handed it to her.

“This is blank,” Lena said, flipping through the pages. “Where are the questions?”

“Which questions?”

“The ones for the interview of course! ‘How does it feel to be the winner’, ‘how long did it take to build the robot’, ‘Did you have an unfair advantage because of your company’, ‘Is your robot a prototype for an attack drone to free your brother’, etc, etc.”

“Um. Those…those last two seem kind of out of place for an interview about you winning a competition.” She shrugged. “I had actually planned on just talking with you and,” she reached into her pocket to pull out her voice recorder, “see what you wanted to talk about, regarding the competition?”

Lena stopped in her tracks.

“You’re serious. You’d let me lead the interview.”

“Yes? Is that okay?”

She tapped her foot, staring intently at Kara. She pulled out a pen and scribbled in the notebook, handing it back to Kara.

“I don’t have the time today, but I’ll be free tomorrow. That’s my phone number. Text me, and we’ll arrange something.”

* * *

 “Oh no,” Kara moaned, looking at her phone.

“What?” Alex smacked Winn’s hand away from the tray of snacks in front of her. “Those are for when Maggie and my mom get here, hands off.”

“Lena wants to meet me at Baker’s Dozen…”

“Wait, what’s wrong with that?” Winn reached for the food again, only for James to pull him back by the collar right before Alex went for his hand again.

“She really will take your hand off,” he warned. He turned back to Kara. “Aren’t you banned from that place?”

“Only a little bit,” she said, fiddling with her phone. “I might’ve…gone a little overboard on their ‘all you can eat’ pastries a few times. They _very politely_ told me I wouldn’t be welcome back in their store.”

“And then,” Alex said, “they took a picture of her, put it on the wall, and sent it to every other cafe in the chain.”

“Alex!”

“What?”

“They didn’t need to know that.” The sisters stuck their tongues out at each other playfully. “Okay, but I don’t know what to tell Lena now, she’s already waiting for me over there.”

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she opened the message.

“Nevermind,” she said, covering her face. “Apparently she’s just seen my picture and wants to know where I can meet her.”

“Why not your apartment?”

“The one she hasn’t cleaned in forever,” James asked with a laugh, ducking away from Kara’s halfhearted shove.

“I cleaned it…”

“When? Move in day?”

“You guys are the worst.”

* * *

 

Lena stepped cautiously into the small apartment, looking at the stacks of art supplies everywhere.

“Sorry about the mess, it’s,” she sighed, “been a while since I had a chance to clean the place up.”

“That’s alright,” she said, stepping around a small pile of blank canvases. “You paint?”

“Art minor.” She shrugged. “Get a degree that pays, but study something you love, as well.”

“Good plan.” She followed Kara into the tiny kitchen, the table thankfully clear.

“Did you want some coffee, or some donuts or something?”

Lena hesitated and then nodded. “That sounds nice, thank you.” She watched Kara move around the kitchen, setting up the coffee maker. “About the cafe…”

“I had an incident-” she winced and corrected herself, “-a _few_ incidents with their all-you-can-eat pastry bar. I _might_ also be banned from every Baker’s Dozen in the state for said incidents.”

Lena let out a little laugh. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am 100% serious. They told me they’d throw me out if I tried to go back in.”

“Have you ever tried,” she asked, accepting the cup of coffee from her.

“Once. Let’s just say they weren’t kidding…”

“You’ll have to tell me that story too sometime,” she said with a smile, the expression freezing on her face. “I mean, if you want to.”

“Maybe after the interview?” She sat down in the chair across from Lena. “There wasn’t much to it, other than me in a wig and their beefy barista carrying me outside to drop me into a snowbank.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to that, too?”

Kara just smiled.

* * *

And couldn’t stop smiling. They’d been talking for hours, Lena warming to the conversation in degrees. Her answers began as short, by the book, ‘I enjoyed it, it was exciting’, growing to wide gestures and witty jokes about her competitors and their robot names. She looked surprised at herself the first time, then joined in with Kara’s laughter, looking a little more sure of herself afterwards, enthusiasm about her projects pouring out of her, making Kara feel warm.

“Would you _believe_ the number of people who accused me of buying my robot, rather than building it myself?” She shook her head. “Too many to count. I mean, I’ve got all of LCorp that could make it for me-” She glanced at the recorder, stricken.

Kara flipped the switch off, moving the recorder to the side of the table.

“I don’t think that needs to be published,” Kara said quietly.

“Thank you.” She looked at the table, twisting her fingers together. “It’s…getting late. Can I assume you got everything you need for your article?”

“All that and more.”

“Good.” She stood, holding out her hand for Kara to shake. “I’m looking forward to seeing it in the paper.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as it’s up.”

“Thank you.” She hesitated by the door, then shook her head and walked out.

“Lena,” she called, head stuck out the door.

“Yes?”

“Would you,” she stepped out, closer to her, “maybe want to hang out again, later on?”

“Like…another interview?”

“No, just, you know, watch tv and hang out, or board games or something. I mean, I know this was just an interview, but you’re a really interesting person, and you’re funny, and I thought maybe…”

“You’re serious?” Kara nodded. “I’d love to. Thank you.”


	9. The Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's long past time for Kara to have told Lena the truth, so she finally does it.  
> Sometimes the truth hurts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by: http://gosadieburns.tumblr.com/post/158496010206/itslenaluthorbitch-oh-my-gosh-i-just-realised
> 
> Starcrossed lovers- but between the two of them maybe they can avoid the usual ending.

“You’re Supergirl.” She said it with disbelief clear in her voice.

Kara stood before her with her shirt half unbuttoned, her family crest visible on her suit, one hand clasping uselessly at her side, the other holding her glasses.

“I couldn’t,” she looked at the floor, then back up to Lena, “I couldn’t let this thing between us continue-”

“Because I’ve outgrown my usefulness,” she guessed sarcastically, tears welling in her eyes, blinking them away. “You’ve gotten all you can out of me, finally figured out I’m the one _good_ Luthor?”

“No!” She held her head with her hand. “I mean, yes, but no, Lena.” She took a tentative step forward, stopping when Lena took one back, face distrustful. “I already knew you were good. I _know_ you are good.”

Lena’s look didn’t falter.

“I trust you, Lena, you’ve never done anything to even hint that I shouldn’t.”

“I’m a Luthor, and you’re a Super. I know what your _cousin_ thinks of me, he’s why I moved here, rather than staying in Metropolis.” She shook her head and muttered under her breath, “Him and everything Lex did, of course.”

She watched Kara fidget with her shirt. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. Your whole disguise- a cardigan, a ponytail and a pair of glasses. All those times you had to run off in the middle of things, all your disappearances, the fact that even when you were at the same event, Supergirl and Kara were never in the room at the same time.” She laughed bitterly. “Is your real name even Kara? Who are you, really?”

Kara straightened her spine, fully pulling off her shirt. Her Supergirl top were incongruous with her pale pink pants, but somehow she’d never felt more like herself.

“My name is Kara Zor-El. I am the last daughter of Krypton, and the older cousin of Superman.”

“Is that all you are?”

“No.” She lifted her glasses up, showing them to Lena, letting herself drop the heroic stance. “I am an adopted daughter to the Danvers family. I am a sister, I am a reporter, and a food lover, an artist and someone who cares about you deeply, Lena. I care about you so, so much.”

“I don’t know that I can believe you, Kara. Or trust you!" She turned away for a second, whirling back to face her. "I know that who I am would make you hesitant to tell me this, but the time to do that was before we began,” she moved a hand between the two of them, “whatever this was.”

“Whatever this…was?”

“You kept this from me. And knowing who I am, who I’m related to, of course I can understand why you’d keep it from me. But that doesn’t stop it from hurting, from feeling like a betrayal.”

“What can I do?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re right. I betrayed your trust- I knew I could trust you a long, long time ago, and I should have told you who I am. But I didn’t. So tell me how I can make it up to you, how can I earn your trust back? How can I prove that every piece of Kara Danvers is just as real as the parts of me that are Supergirl?”

Lena crossed her arms, wrapping them around herself.

“What if I told you that you can’t? If we can never get back to where we were?”

“It would hurt.” She blinked back tears but nodded. “A lot. But I want whatever you’re willing to give me.”

Lena took a deep, shaky breath and nodded, her voice coming out rough. “I’ll need some time. But when we talk again…I’ll have questions.”

“I can do that,” she said. She rebuttoned her shirt and put her glasses on, grabbing her bag before heading for the door, Lena walking a short distance behind her.

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, but…”

“We’ll work on it,” Kara agreed. “I need to make up for,” she shook her head.

“In the meantime, if you need something- even if you still want space, you can call me. I’m. I’m still your friend. Or, I want to be. So if you need help,” she trailed off earnestly.

Lena gave her a weak smile. “Thank you. I’ll call you. Soon,” she added. She opened her apartment door, Kara stepping out, Lena leaning on the frame. “I care about you too, Kara. I just…need time to process.”

“Of course.”

Kara fidgeted with her hands again, trying to think of something more to say.

“Bye, Kara.”


	10. The Model

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's an art student at her college, and the new model is stunning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by: https://lenaluthordefensesquad.tumblr.com/post/158491892961/katiemcgraths-lucy-also-has-a-crush-on-mina-for  
> and the fact that we'd probably all have a little trouble concentrating if she was the model for our art class.

_You can-NOT have the hots for the model_ , Kara thought to herself desperately. The woman’s black hair cascaded down her back and over one shoulder as she stared at the ground. Her earrings and necklace glinted in the studio light, and Kara felt a deep need to run her fingers (tongue) down the woman’s neck. She wanted to follow the trail of birthmarks and freckles down her neck, down her shoulder-

“Ms. Danvers? You haven’t drawn a single line, is there a problem?”

She jumped halfway off her stool, barely catching her sketchbook before it fell to the ground.

“N-no ma’am, everything’s,” she gasped as the model used one hand to pull her loose sweater further down to bare her shoulder, “great,” she choked out. “Everything’s fantastic.”

“Good to know,” the professor said, staring at her oddly. “Well then. Pencil to paper, let’s go.”

She picked her hand up from where it’d been loosely hanging at her side, sketching the woman’s outline. The professor gave a small hum at the sight and moved on.

“Her name’s Lena,” one of her classmates whispered to her.

“What?”

“The model. Her name’s Lena,” he said. “I tried talking to her once after one of my classes last semester. She iced me out when I asked about,” he chuckled, “private sessions.”

She grimaced. “I wonder why.”

“No clue, I mean, look at me! I’m talented, handsome, rich, I’m the whole package!”

Kara took a glance at his sketchbook and then the man himself and wrinkled her nose, hearing a small laugh from in front of her.

The model continued staring at the ground for a minute and then bit her lip. She looked up with a slowly growing smile and Kara couldn’t look away. They locked eyes, Lena’s smile dropping, turning sultry, eyes bright and wanting. Kara felt her jaw drop and her cheeks heat. She was torn, eyes flickering between Lena and her sketchbook.

Kara raised her pencil again, and snuck a longer glance at her, only to be caught by her eyes, a wink sending a flare of heat through her body again.

“And that’s time!” The professor clapped her hands, a flurry of noise and motion as everyone began packing up their things. “Ms. Luthor will be our model for the next few weeks, so get used to seeing her around.”

Kara groaned internally, not sure she could handle another session of the woman’s distracting beauty.

“Hey, so,” her classmate from before stood beside her, giving her what she was sure he thought was a charming grin. “Would you want to-”

“Sorry, darling?” Lena stepped between them, facing Kara with a wide smile. “Were you ready to go?”

Kara felt herself freeze as she gripped Kara’s arm lightly but possessively.

“Darling,” he asked.

“Yes,” she barely turned her head at all, “I told my girlfriend I’d walk her to her next class.”

‘Girlfriend?’ Kara mouthed the word to herself. Lena gave her arm a squeeze and Kara jumped back into action. She threw her sketchbook back into her bag and nodded frantically. “Yes, girlfriend, yes, I am…ready to go!”

“Perfect. Goodbye, Mark.”

“It’s Mike, actually…”

Lena grabbed Kara’s hand and nearly dragged her from the classroom, pulling her into the nearest restroom. She opened the door a crack to see Mark looking around the hallway for them. He eventually shrugged and walked off dejectedly, immediately lighting up when another woman walked in front of him.

She closed the door with a laugh, leaning back against it.

“Sorry about that, I’ve met Mark before and he was…as pleasant as you’d imagine, from that quick trip down ‘ego lane’ he took you on. I’m Lena, by the way.” She stuck her hand out, expression getting slightly confused when Kara just stared at her with wide eyes.

“Sorry!” She fumbled with her bag, reaching out to shake Lena’s hand. “Danvers. Kara! Kara Danvers.”

“Well,” she smiled bemusedly, “Nice to meet you, Kara Danvers. Now, I did say I’d be walking you to your next class, so…where to?”

“What,” she asked weakly.

“Your next class, what is it? Unless you’re not…”

“No!” Kara protested, putting her hands up, “No, I am definitely,” she nodded, not even knowing what she was agreeing to be, “It’s anatomy next, in, in the science building!”

“Well then,” Lena swung open the door, waving a hand for Kara to head out. “Shall we?”


	11. Legacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Superman comes to town for a visit- to LCorp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not inspired by any post specifically, but more the fact that if Superman was suspicious of Lena just for being a Luthor, he'd probably be suspicious of her even after she helps take down some of Cadmus

It’s a few days after CADMUS’ most recent attempt at ridding the world of aliens when Kara’s on patrol and hears Lena’s heartbeat speed to a rate that she knows (has heard often enough by now) as panic.

She tunes in consciously to the LCorp building as she flies towards it and to her surprise, hears Lena having what sounds like a civil conversation- with Superman.

“I don’t know what else I can possibly do to convince you I’m not like my family, Superman.”

“Nothing.” She can see, even from a distance that her cousin has his arms crossed, face grim. “Which is why I came to warn you. The minute you step out of line, the _second_ you show your true colors,” he steps forward menacingly, “I’ll be there to stop you.”

“Superman,” Kara says brightly, floating down between the two, “I didn’t know you were in town! Or that you knew Lena?”

“We’ve met, once or twice before,” Lena says bitterly, in a way that makes Kara sure that this isn’t the first time Superman’s been by to ‘warn’ her.

“Under similar circumstances,” Superman agrees, nodding, eyes still focused on Lena.

 “Oh! So you’re here to thank her,” she says with a smile, venom at its edges. “After all, without her help, it would have taken even longer for either Kara Danvers or myself to find where Lillian was holding the rest of the aliens.” She takes a casual, _forceful_ step forward, Superman taking a matching one back.

“I-”

“Or, maybe you’re here to thank her for turning Lillian in the first time?” Another step forward for her, another one back for Superman.

“Stopping the Medusa virus in general,” she says thoughtfully, “or stopping that gang that had stolen alien technology, which, by the way,” she turns to her side to look at Lena, “thank you, Lena, I never did stop to say thanks for all of that, I know how difficult it must have been.”

Lena’s only answer is a jerky nod, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, only relaxing slightly when Kara puts a gentle hand on hers.

She turns back to Superman, her expression now undeniably hard, even as she smiles at him, tilting her head.

“Maybe, it was all of those?”

“Supergirl, I realize that Miss Luthor has helped you in the past-”

“Yes. Right. Attempting to throw herself directly into danger to protect me when her mother kidnapped her.”

“But she’s a Luthor, just like Lillian, just like _Lex_! And she’ll betray you the same way he did me.” He shook his head. “It’s only a matter of when she’ll turn.”

“So what you’re saying,” she said, rocking back on her heels, “is that she’s a criminal.”

“Yes!”

“Here in National City?”

“Well, she hasn’t been to Metropolis in a while.”

“And we should treat her like a villain before she’s done anything to warrant it, here in _my_ city?”

“Ye-” He got halfway through nodding before his mind caught up to her words, “She’s a _Luthor_ , Supergirl. I trusted Lex-”

“And got burned for it, I know.” She shook her head. “I refuse to judge someone on the basis of their family, especially when neither of us,” she pointed between their crests, “would come out of _that_ unscathed.”

“It’s not the same!”

“You’re right,” she said with a small smile. “It’s not.”

She turned back to Lena again. “Would you mind if we sat?”

“Go right ahead,” she said, her voice not betraying any of the worry that Kara knew still had to be filling her.

The two women sat, Superman shaking his head.

“I’ll stand.”

“Go right ahead,” Kara said, looking him straight in the eye. “Since we’re to judge you on the misdeeds of your family, Lena, perhaps we should even the playing field a bit. To begin with, the Medusa virus that your mother almost unleashed on all of National City? It was my father’s creation. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt when I discovered that.”

Lena gave a nod, Clark’s frown deepening.

“Oh,” she said with faux surprise, “you didn’t know that, Kal?”

“Don’t-”

She glared at him. “You’re not very ‘super’ right now, the way you’re acting. Either I call you Kal…”

“Message received.”

She turned back to Lena once more. “The next thing you need to know, is where the virus came from.”

“Supergirl,” he said with dismay.

“No, I think she needs to know this. It came from his base,” she pointed at him. “He had it, he _kept it_ this whole time.” She stared at him accusingly. “You knew what it could do, didn’t you?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

Lena finally spoke up, horror in her voice. “And you kept it anyways? Knowing what it could do, that it could kill all aliens on the planet?”

“There wasn’t enough to do that, what I had was such a small amount, it wouldn’t have done any harm keeping it, if _your_ mother hadn’t taken it and recreated-”

“What _my_ father made in the first place. To kill all aliens except Kryptonians. It would have killed humans too, had Lillian not changed the virus.”

“One instance,” he said, holding up a finger, “one instance of our family doing something- in defense of Krypton!”

“Genocide, in the name of Krypton,” she snorted, “And how do you defend Astra?”

“Astra,” Lena asked.

“My aunt,” she said. “Partly responsible for Myriad, which nearly killed everyone on the planet.”

“So she was insane-”

“Her husband was the one to enact that final protocol, not her, she was coming around! And they only did that-”

“Supergirl,” he shook his head.

“-because they were trying to prevent humans from ruining this world like we did Krypton! Where she was arrested because my own mother tricked me into calling her in!” She stood, pacing, face tight and tears threatening to fall. “The same mother who, along with both of our fathers, allowed the public to go without notice when they knew, _knew_ that Krypton was dying! For the sake of us.” Her hands shook. “ _Our_ lives. Like we were so much more important or valuable than the entire planet.”

“I feel like,” she laughed, clutching her cape in her hands, “like you and I would come out of this so much worse than Lena would, if the rest of the world knew the legacy of the House of El.”

“Supergirl,” Lena reached out cautiously for her, placing a caring hand on her shoulder.

“The legacy that you’ve now revealed to one of our greatest enemies.”

“Kara,” she told Lena, staring at Clark defiantly. “My name is Kara Zor-El. You know me as Kara Danvers, and when I told you that Kara Danvers believes in you, Lena, I meant it. You have my trust, and you have for some time now.”

“Kara,” she said, and Kara noted the lack of surprise in her voice.

“I’m going to go get J’onn. I can’t _believe_ you’d be so reckless-” Kara sped over to him, grabbing him by the wrist, putting enough pressure on it to warn him not to move.

“I think you forget that my identity is my own. That my _life_ is my own, and that my _decisions_ are my own.”

“Do you realize how many people you’ve just put in danger by telling her who you are?”

“None,” she said confidently.

“How can you be so unconcerned!”

“Because Lena isn’t a threat, Kal! She’s a good person, and she has proven it over and over and over again, sometimes at great personal risk! Even when it endangers her company, her reputation, her life!” She shook her head wildly. “There would be no benefit to her standing up to ‘Cyborg Superman’,” she made the air quotes, “to defend Supergirl in Lex’s warehouse! She could have been hurt or worse, trying to get away from him to help me, but she did it anyways!”

“And you come here, to her company, that she’s trying to make a force for good, that she’s trying to use to help people, genuinely help people, to accuse her of being a genocidal megalomaniac? She has proven herself as much a hero as either you or I are,” she said, stabbing a finger into his chest, “maybe even more. Now I need you to leave. Don’t come back to National City and don’t threaten my people. And if it ever comes down to it and I’m somehow wrong about Lena, feel free to tell me ‘I told you so’.”

He studied them both silently for a moment before floating upwards. “I won’t always be able to come to your rescue, and I have a feeling you’re going to regret this.”

“Somehow,” she said, smiling at Lena, “I don’t think so.”


	12. Paparazzi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The photos they've gotten of Kara and Lena aren't incriminating, per say, but they are...something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also not inspired by any post in particular, just the fact that apparently Kara and Lena have quite a few lunch dates together, and as a Luthor, Lena's probably not going to be escaping photographers' notice for very long.

“Lena?” Kara stuck her head in the office door. “Jess said you wanted to see me?”

“Kara, yes! I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t pull you away from anything?”

“No,” she walked inside, giving Lena a quick hug hello, “not at all. Usually you come see me when you want to talk. Or call. LCorp staying busy?”

“Yes. Or,” she shook her head, “What’s keeping me busy right now is the same reason I called you in, I’ve been trying to find who to contact-” she gestured Kara to her couch, grabbing a tablet and a small pile of newspapers before sitting down beside her. “It’s all over the papers…”

“You know I don’t work for CatCo anymore, but I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“That’s,” she laughed awkwardly, “that’s not it, although, that might come in handy, in the end. It’s nothing bad, really, but I didn’t want it to catch you off-guard.” Kara looked at her encouragingly. “Well, I’ve got my whole PR team on it, as well as Jess and myself personally. They’re selling it as _fact_ , when they don’t have anything more than a few pictures, implications. Tabloids, really…”

Kara reached over and gently tugged the paper out of her hands, reading the headline.

“Lady Lover Lena Luthor” She flipped to the next one. “Lesbian Luthor,” she read with a raised eyebrow, “They really do like their alliteration.” She turned to the third. “Luthor Heir in Relationship with Former Reporter?”

“They got several pictures of us on our lunch dates,” she winced, “lunch _meetings_ , and jumped to conclusions.” She picked up the tablet and opened another tabloid to show Kara the page. “There’s a slideshow…”

Kara took the tablet with a bemused smile on her face, going through the pictures. “Outside the Chinese place,” swipe, “that sandwich shop,” swipe, “the ice cream parlor…oh.” She stopped on the ice cream picture. “Oh,” she repeated, leaning towards Lena. “I can see why they thought…”

It was a picture of the two of them facing each other, one of Kara’s arms wrapped around Lena’s waist, pulling her close, and her other hand holding the ice cream cone that she was playfully pushing towards Lena’s face, a dot of ice cream already visible on her nose. Both of them had their heads thrown back in laughter, expressions bright.

“Yes, well,” Lena cleared her throat and stood, dusting off her slacks and walking to lean against her desk. “There’s,” she cleared her throat again, “many pictures like that. Apparently the paparazzi have been following us surreptitiously.”

“And you’re having them taken down because they’re an invasion of privacy,” she said slowly, “or because of what they imply?”

Lena turned away.

“Because if it’s the first one, I definitely agree that these pictures cross a line. But if it’s the latter,” she stood, walking over behind her, a gentle hand on her waist. “Lena, anyone would be lucky to be connected to you like this,” she held the tablet in front of Lena, “to be dating you. I don’t mind that they think we’re together. Do you?”

Lena shook her head and waved a hand helplessly, words failing her.

“Lena?”

Her voice shook. “I always want what I can’t have.”

Kara’s breath caught in her throat.

She set down the tablet and moved forward, fitting herself more closely against Lena’s back.

“Who said you can’t have me?” She leaned in further, tucking her chin over Lena’s shoulder, feeling her hold her breath.

She pulled the phone towards them, one arm still wrapped around Lena’s waist. A few taps and it was on speaker phone, calling the front desk.

“Jess?”

“Yes, Ms. Danvers?”

Kara looked towards Lena out of the corner of her eye, smiling when Lena’s hands came up to grip the arm around her.

“Cancel the PR team’s orders. We’ll figure out something for them to say soon.”

“Of course, Ms. Danvers.” Through the door, she could hear Jess hang up the phone. “Finally…”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @sterling-jay, feel free to say hello or drop a request, my inbox is always open!  
> (One of these days I'll post something longer for Supercorp...)


End file.
